Will Full-Service Financial Advisors Be a Thing of the Past?

Here is an interesting item from Bloomberg, regarding a new wave of DIY investing. I myself am skeptical. The Bloomberg article implies that more and more people will be firing their financial advisors to go to low-cost mutual fund/ETF supermarkets -- in essence low-cost, online portfolio managers.

Here is an excerpt: "The next thundering herd on Wall Street may be the ranks of low-cost portfolio managers such as MarketRiders and Folio Investing, which cater to self-directed investors like Cohen. Sites that sell prepackaged portfolios have attracted more than $3 billion in assets over the last three years as more investors leave their full-service brokers."

It seems to me that financial advisors are gaining assets from baby boomers who are or nearing retirement. Capital accumulation is, I suppose, relatively easy: Just go long some indexes (equities, commodities, fixed income, a simple combination thereof). But creating a distribution plan --- how to live on accumulated capital --- is a far more complex task, one that may require actual professional help.